The Last Relic
by Mrs. Son of Coul
Summary: Earth is no stranger to visits by non-humans . . . But now they meet the One who saved them from a damnation worse than death . . . NOTE: This was begun *before* Halo 4 was released, and as I no longer have access to an Xbox 360, this is in no way meant to be supplemental to and/or part of the Halo canon.
1. Chapter 1

I

"Thor's back! Look!"

Jane looked up and the smile disappeared.

"No."

"No? But that's-"

"That's not him. That's not the Einstein-Rosenburg Bridge."

"Well . . . then . . . what is it?"

Jane inched closer to the monitor, then glanced at the window.

"I don't know. I think we should call Agent Co-"

Darcy gripped her iPod, her knuckles white.

"He's not gonna take my iPod again, are they?"

"Shut up about your iPod, Darcy."

"No, we're not going to take it, Ms. Lewis."

They turned around to face him.

"What are you doing here?"

"We both want the same thing, Ms. Foster," Coulson said. "We want to find what comes down this time." He turned slightly to call behind him. "Dr. Banner, could we get your professional opinion, please?"

Banner stepped into the room slowly, lugging two suitcases behind him. His eyes locked onto the pillar of lightning.

"Is that Thor?"

"No!"

The latecomers stared at Jane.

"No, it's . . . it's not him." She glanced at Banner. "I . . . We met Thor when he came the first time."

"Yeah, and she hit him with her car twice."

"Shut up, Darcy."

"How is this one different?"

Jane turned to her monitors.

"This one's . . . cold. It shouldn't be, but there's no heat registering, and it . . . it looks like it's actually _sucking_ heat from the air around it." She pointed to a weather readout. "The air within a three mile radius has dropped in temperature since this began . . ."

"How long ago was that?" he asked, unpacking his equipment.

". . . Ninety seconds ago . . ."

Banner stopped.

"That's impossible."

"Obviously not; it just happened."

Darcy screamed and dropped her iPod. It didn't hit the floor.

Jane and Banner's computer screens flickered and shut off, the mice and lighter electronic objects levitating slightly.

Coulson's phone rose out of his pocket. He grabbed it without looking and flipped it open. It didn't even turn on.

Every light bulb flashed violet before the filament failed and darkness consumed the room.

Jane ran to the balcony, hit the railing and stared, her eyes unblinking.

"Every light in town's out!"

Lightning shot upwards out of the caves to the east, followed by a guttural scream that lingered, blown westward by scorching wind. The cry died out, but the lightning grew brighter, the diameter expanded and the air changed direction as the pillar of light began to suck in branches and boulders.

Coulson stepped forward.

"Dr. Banner, pack it up. We're going west."


	2. Chapter 2

Text from:

CAPTAIN KANGAROO!

Open :: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

Pepper moaned.

"Tony?"

His side of the bed was empty. She rolled out of bed.

"Tony . . . ?"

Running footsteps came towards the bedroom. Tony poked his head in the doorway, grinning like the Cheshire.

"Honey, you gotta see this!"

He darted back off to the balcony before Pepper could even hold out his cell phone. She followed him out into the hallway where she was nearly blinded with blue light.

"Tony, what is that?!"

He laughed.

"I dunno, but isn't it pretty?" He took her empty hand and led her to the railing. "I thought we might have a moment . . ."

Pepper turned away from the light and faced him.

"Tony. It's three in the morning. I'm having negative three hundred percent of a moment right now." She handed him his phone. "That woke me up. I think they need Iron Man. Have fun, boss."

Nick Fury turned around as Clint and Natasha walked into the command room in uniform. They stared at the glass wall ahead of them through which the tower of light illuminated the entire west wing of S.H.E.I.L.D. HQ. Agent Hill handed them each a pair of sunglasses and they took them wordlessly.

"Director Fury?" Clint said. "What are we supposed to do about that?"

Fury sighed.

"Six hours ago, three teenagers reported seeing somebody fall out of the sky, out of a wormhole. They said that the person crashed straight through that cave," he said, pointing to the spire of lightning. "The ranger didn't believe them because they all had alcohol on their breath, but . . ." He shrugged. "It's the only credible explanation right now."

"Is it Thor again?" Natasha asked.

"No. We've made contact with Thor Odinson and Loki Laufeyson, and they're both present and accounted for. They're actually en route to the mountains as we speak to rendezvous Captain America, Iron Man, Dr. Banner and Agent Coulson."

"What are we supposed to do?"

Fury tilted his head.

"Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff, your orders are to rendezvous with the rest of the Avengers and find out if there _is _any truth to the report. In any event, stop that lighting: every airport within 250 miles is experiencing technical malfunctions because of it."

"And . . . if there _is _truth to the report, sir?" Natasha asked slowly.

"Then bring them here for questioning, debriefing, and tagging."

He turned back to the light.

"You're dismissed."

They turned and headed for the garages.

"What do you make of that, Nat?"

She shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first time we've been sent out on a wild goose chase."

Clint nodded.

"But?"

"But if it were a wild goose chase . . . why is he sending in the Avengers?"


	3. Chapter 3

III

" . . . _Boooooooooooooooooooooorn to be wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiild . . . _!"

Tony landed to Clint's right, putting an arm around Natasha.

"Hey there, honey."

He raised his facemask, surveying the tower of crackling blue light.

"So . . . this is a dumb question, but does anyone have any idea what this is?"

The three turned to see Cap walking up behind them, his hood back. Tony shook his head.

"Nope. For once, we're as clueless as you."

"Avengers."

Fury approached them, Banner and Coulson following close behind, their coats blown about as the helicopter lifted off. He nodded to the cave.

"It seems we've found it."

"Yeah, but what's _'it'_?" Tony asked. "I'm not going in there until we figure that out."

They looked at Banner, who shrugged.

"I've never seen anything like this before. It's everything I've seen put together, making it . . . new." He looked at Tony. "Besides, I don't think you _could _go in there, even if you wanted to. That thing was sucking the power from that helicopter; it'd suck the life right out of you."

"Well, that would explain the glitches, then. So how do we shut it off?"

"I don't think it _can _be shut off. I can't make out where the power source is."

Cap looked up and pointed.

"There's another one."

A second tower of multicolored light hit the ground and two figures stepped out.

Coulson shook his head.

"No, that's actually a Bifrost."

Thor approached them, Loki following a few paces back. He nodded.

"Midgardians." He turned towards the tower of light as Loki joined them silently. "How long has this been here?"

"By our count, four hours. Dr. Foster was the one who reported it."

"Jane . . . ?"

Loki stared at the cave, paler than usual.

"Amma . . ."

Thor put a hand on his brother's shoulder, sharing his look of sadness.

Cap stepped forward.

". . . Who?"

"Nobody," Loki murmured.

Tony snorted.

"Bull-"

A surge of power coursed down the shaft, knocking them all backwards. Loki jumped to his feet and ran towards the cave entrance. Thor blocked his path, holding him back.

"_Amma!_"

"Who is he talking about?" Natasha asked.

Thor looked down.

"Our governess." He met her gaze mournfully. "She taught us almost everything we know." Loki clawed at Thor's back, never taking his eyes off the cave, but Thor gripped him tighter. "Loki loved her . . . She taught him how to use his shape-shifting abilities. She was his closest friend." He looked away. "The friend I ought to have been. . ."

Fury stepped forward, cocking his head.

"This thing's a _shape-shifter_?"

Loki was suddenly directly in front of Fury.

"That _thing _is my dearest friend, _ant._" He stepped closer, a breath away from Fury and a good bit taller. "I'm getting her out of there if I have to do it myself-"

"Loki." Thor's voice was quiet. "We _can't_."

His face fell.

"Then who will get her . . . ?"

"I will."

Everyone turned to look at Banner.

"You?" Tony said. "Dude, you're not going in there alone."

"I have to. I'm the only one that can take the radiation."

There was silence.

"Okay, fine."

Banner started towards the cave, stopped, and turned around.

"Um . . . how will I find her?"

"You can't miss her." They all turned to Loki, who was staring off into nothing. "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. . ."

Banner ran into the cave, the hair all over his body standing on end and tingling. His shirt was lifted up by the static in the air. His glasses grew warm in his chest pocket, and he heard the soft _chinks_ as the polycarbonate began to crack. There was a rushing sound pressing against his eardrums, but no wind causing it. He followed the dim light, which had begun to glow blue.

What he saw stopped him dead.


	4. Chapter 4

IV

A woman easily taller than Thor lay on her back on a large, flat stone, an ornate yet slight sword buried in her abdomen, just below her breasts. Great battered, feathered wings stretched in both directions underneath her, nearly touching the ground. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth gaping in a silent cry of agony. Her skin was paler than ice, save for shimmers of gold in peculiar patterns on her face and neck. Her white hair was tangled and matted with dust and blood. The beam of energy began to narrow until they pulsed directly into the hilt of the sword. The hair on her face and exposed wrists stood up. In vain, she clawed for the blade, but was too weak to pull it out.

Banner stepped forward, cautiously eyeing the energy beam.

"Miss Amma?"

She whipped her face in his direction and he yelled. Her irises and pupils were drained of any color save a dull grey shimmer. Her chapped lips parted slightly as blood began to pool on the stone under her cheek.

Bruce could feel the subtle change in his blood chemistry as 'the Other Guy' began to emerge. He stepped closer and held her wrist, feeling for her pulse. Her hand was heavy, and he realized that _she'd _be much heavier than he had anticipated.

_For once, _he's _making himself useful._

Her pulse was well-timed, but sluggish and labored.

"Miss Amma?"

Her gaze slid to him.

"Please don't be afraid of me. . ."

His muscles spasmed as they grew rapidly beneath his flesh.

The Other Guy was here.

Loki paced anxiously, watched carefully by Thor and Coulson.

"He should have found her by now!"

"You don't think the radiation was too much for him, do you?" Natasha whispered to Clint.

"Nah."

Tony and Cap exchanged a look and the former lowered his visor.

"All I know is that if he's not out in five minutes, we're going-"

A scream echoed out of the cave, falling through several frequencies.

Tony raised his visor, though that did little good.

Clint, Natasha, and Coulson yanked out their earpieces.

Thor and Loki looked to Cap, who couldn't hold back a smirk.

"There was always a reason I didn't get one of those blueteeth."

"A what?" Loki asked.

"It's blue_tooth_," Tony muttered, his ears ringing.

"But there's more than one, so isn't it teeth?"

The humans looked at him.

"**_No_**."

Hulk felt the blade give as he gripped the hilt.

The woman looked up at him and nodded slightly.

"_Tracto._" Pull_._

In one swift motion, Hulk loosed the blade, and she screamed as it exited her. The energy pulses shifted course, attracted to the blade.

He gently picked her up, shouldering the still unexpected weight, her wings soft against his arm and chest. He plunged the blade back into the stone and kicked it, snapping the blade in half.

The energy pulses disappeared.

"What happened?"

Tony lowered his visor.

"Can't tell; there's too much interference left."

Cap looked to Coulson.

"So it's safe to go in now?"

"I don't - _NO_!"

Thor and Loki had already run half the distance to the cave. The others followed suit as Hulk emerged, a huge woman with soft grey wings hanging over his shoulder. Loki's pace quickened.

"**_Amma!_**"

Hulk put her down gently, looking sorrowfully at the Asgardians as they approached.

"Gone."

Thor stood numbly as Loki dropped to his knees at her side. The others approached slowly as Loki cradled her head, sobbing softly.

"_Amma. . ._"

Her wrist twitched and she sighed softly, turning her face towards him.

"_Loki. . ._" Her fingertips met his cheek, softly wiping his tears away.

"Amma. . . ?"

She smiled softly, the dried blood at the corner of her mouth flaking off.

"_Lugete non perierat non est._" Do not mourn for what is not lost.

Thor fell beside his brother and embraced her tightly. She gasped sharply and began to cough up blood. Hulk looked confused.

"Back?"

Thor lifted her gently.

"She needs a physician," he said, his voice low. "Where's the closest one?"

Coulson pointed up as he pulled out his phone.

"The Helicarrier is the best she can get this side of the atmosphere."

Steve looked up, mouthing _atmosphere_. Tony shook his head and lifted his visor again.

"On Earth, dude."

Loki looked at Coulson as he stood, his face still wet.

"Can they save her?"

The agent put a hand on the god's shoulder.

"I give you my word they'll try."


	5. Chapter 5

V

Thor and Loki sat side by side on the floor, staring into the glass wall of the surgery theater in silence. The others stood behind them. Hulk hadn't relaxed yet, but was milder than usual.

Cap glanced up at the clock and turned towards Tony.

"How long do you think it will take?"

He shrugged.

"You'd be surprised how much can go wrong in a body." He tapped his ARC reactor. "This takes hours to do maintenance on alone."

They jumped as a surgeon tapped on the glass, motioning for Tony.

"Sir," he said, his voice muffled by the glass, "we need your opinion on this."

". . . _My_ opinion?" The surgeon nodded and Loki turned on Tony.

"_Your _opinion?"

"Yes, apparently my opinion. It may interest you to know that I've got multiple doctorate degrees."

_But nada in medicine. . ._

The surgeon unlocked the door and let Tony in, then pointed to the woman.

"What do you make of that?"

He moved around her right wing to examine her closer. A long, deep incision had been made in her chest but they had not yet begun the surgery. Her heart was held together by a series of silverish alloy stitches. But more than that, her ribs and sternum were coated – or made of – the same metal. It was then that Tony noticed a bulge that encircled her neck. He pulled out his phone and scanned it: a metal collar that protected her neck and ran down the length of her spine. He straightened.

"Um, well, I'd make of that that she's made of metal."

"So what do we do? We can't cut through that."

Another surgeon dropped a scalpel.

"Oh my God. . ."

The wounds in the woman's chest began to pixelize and weave together. Her heartbeat steadied and her brainwaves spiked.

"And my professional advice is that you stitch her up _now_."

"Can't she just . . . y'know . . . do it herself?" the other surgeon asked, backing away. The first surgeon held the skin together and backed away towards the door as it wove together. In a flash she sat up, holding the lining of the table over her chest and repositioning into a crouch on the table.

"Easy . . . easy. . ." Tony backed towards the glass, his hands up. She stared at him, her eyes grey and dull, but attentive. Her hair levitated before lowering, as if she were submerged in water and her wings – retracted before – extended, nearly filling the small operating theater. "Umm . . ." Tony turned and motioned to Thor and Loki, who stared at her in shock.

"Amma. . . ?" Loki whispered, muffled by the glass.

She stared at him, and green pigment slowly spread from her pupils, flooding her irises. She was suddenly by the glass, threads of light disappearing around her.

"Loki. . ."

He spoke in a strange tongue that even Thor didn't seem to recognize. She answered, her voice deep and urgent. Tony glanced at Loki.

"What'd she say?"

"I don't know . . . She's not speaking what she taught me."

"What were you speaking, brother?"

"The language of the Jötunn. But she never taught me her native tongue."

"What is her native tongue?"

"She called it . . . Lotan?"

"Latin."

Natasha stepped forward and put her hand on the glass.

"Unde estis, et quomodo huc venisti?" _Who are you, and how did you come here?_

The woman stared at her in silence as the green was snapped back into her pupils. She slid to her knees, the sheet dropping away as she clawed at the glass.

"**_Didact. . . !_**"

The glass shattered from the force of her scream and alarms began to sound. Loki dove for the sheet and laid it over her as Thor scooped her up. Coulson ran into the waiting room, Director Fury not far behind.

"What the he-!?"

Coulson turned, trying to placate his superior officer.

"Sir, I can explain-"

"You'd better explain why every piece of reinforced glass on this level just shattered, Agent!"

"It is our tutor, Director of Fury," Thor said, holding the woman protectively.

"No, it's just – never mind. What is she?"

"She called herself . . . a Forerunner," Loki said hesitantly.

"Forerunner? Forerunner to what?"

"Us?" Clint volunteered.

"Well . . . what's wrong with her? How'd she shatter the glass?"

"We didn't know she could do that," Loki murmured.

"What _do _you know she can do?" Fury asked, out of patience.

Thor and Loki stared at each other, at a loss.

"Get her to the Cell and lock it down. I want a tactical squad in there now."

"But sir . . . she's-"

"I don't care. Lock her down. I'll notify the Council."


	6. Chapter 6

Fury scowled as he strode out of the Council Chamber. Agent Hill followed behind him silently, holding her breath. They rounded the corner to the Cell and stopped to assess the precautions Agent Coulson had taken.

Two squads of elite tactical squads had surrounded the Cell and were poised to shoot. Inside the Cell, the woman had awoken and sat up, staring ahead, her eyes the same flat grey as before.

Coulson entered and quietly took his place beside Hill.

"When did she wake up?" Fury asked.

"Just after she was put in there. We've scanned her vitals from here. You'd never know she'd just been ripped open."

"What's she doing?"

"We can't tell, though IT's been telling me that files are being accessed as we speak."

"From where?"

"From here, sir."

"By _her_?"

"It must be, though we don't know how to stop her because we don't know how she's doing it."

"Is she looking for something?"

"They think she is, but they can't tell what. She hasn't looked at every file, and some she seems to have no interest in." He paused. "Mr. Stark has suggested that we employ his AI in this scenario."

"Absolutely not. Mr. Stark was meant to be only a consultant; we are not going to-"

"Too late."

Tony knocked on the glass wall behind them and waved.

"I've already asked JARVIS to crack her."

"You mean beat her to whatever she's after," Fury said evenly.

"No, I mean to crack her. There's no way to tell what she's after, so we'll just stop her where she's at." He slid out his phone and studied the readout. "Surprised your IT guys didn't think of that."

"Shut up while you're ahead, Stark." Fury turned back to the Cell.

"Has she moved?"

"Other than sitting up, no sir."

"Let's make use of the downtime to interrogate the Asgardians. Agent Hill, stay here and watch her."

"Furious one, you do not understand!" Thor shouted, slamming his fist on the table between them. "She never spoke about herself, she never answered questions about herself, she never spoke about where she was from! We do not know anything about her!"

"But she taught you throughout your entire childhood, didn't she?"

"Taught us academically, yes. And that was all."

"Then how did Loki know that she spoke another language?"

"They had a bond."

"What kind of bond?"

Thor glared at him.

"The kind of bond a son would have with a parent."

"Is she-?"

"No, she is not!" he thundered. "I cannot give you any information about her. But I can promise you she is not a threat to you, nor your world."

The lights dimmed and Hill's voice was muffled as shots rang out. Thor ran out the door towards the Cell, Fury closing the distance. Hill and Coulson had their weapons drawn and didn't seem to notice Fury and Thor enter. The woman stood outside of the Cell, though the door was still sealed. The tactical squads had fired, but the bullets were on the floor, creating an arc in front of the woman.

"Amma!"

Loki burst through the door behind Thor and Fury and ran to her. She turned towards him and smiled, the green slowly pooling back into her irises. They embraced, and she stroked his hair gently, murmuring to him quietly.

"It is as I told you," Thor said softly. "Their bond is a strong one."

Fury nodded and motioned to Coulson and Hill to lower their weapons. The tactical squads followed suit cautiously. The rest of the Avengers crowded at the doorway, peering in. Fury looked at Natasha and motioned to the woman expectantly.

Loki pulled away as Natasha approached and faced the woman. She took a deep breath that betrayed her frayed nerves.

"Unde estis, et quomodo huc venisti?" _Who are you, and how did you come here?_

The woman smiled.

"Latin is clearly not your first language. There's no need to use it."

She blinked and stepped back in surprise.

"Then . . . who are you?"

The smile faded.

"I don't know."

"Look," Fury said, stepping forward, "I don't know who you are or what game you're playing, but I don't have time for your-"

"How many years could you not hear your name before you forget what it is?"

"What?"

"I have not heard my name in over a millennia," she said, taking a step towards the Director, the color of her irises growing more intense. "My name was forgotten by all long ago." She stopped, her eyes unfocusing and her voice distant. "And perhaps it's not a name I wish to remember."

For a moment, Fury looked as if he had lost his nerve.

"Right . . . well . . . Where are you from?"

She stiffened and shook her head.

"No."

"You had better tell me."

"Or what? You'll order them to shoot?" She turned and pointed to the bullets on the ground. "That was very effective." She bent and picked one up, studying it closely. "Would you believe I've never seen Class II weaponry before?" she murmured. "Not that it matters . . . It was entirely unsuitable to the task."

"What task?" Steve asked from the doorway quietly.

"Shut up, Captain!" Fury shouted. Coulson stared at Fury in horror as Steve came forward meekly.

"No, sir." He looked up at the woman, who had dropped the bullet and turned to face him. "She's like me, sir. She's out of her time."

The woman stared at him as Loki appeared behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Amma . . . I think you should-"

Fury's hand suddenly snapped forward and he pressed a small, glowing sphere to the back of her neck. She gasped, gritted her teeth, and spasmed uncontrollably as she fell to the floor, panting heavily. Loki dove for her, but three members of the tactical squad restrained him. The Avengers ran forward as Tony pounded on the glass.

"You idiot! What did you do that for?!"

"You said she was rooting through our system! And she wasn't exactly 'forthcoming' with _any _information!"

"Yeah, but I didn't say to zap her!"

"Get out here; I can barely hear you!"

Tony rolled his eyes and ran around to the door, shoving a few squad members out of his way.

"What is wrong with you?" he shouted, nose to nose with Fury. "Did you even see her when we brought her in here?"

"N-"

"Her chest was sliced open, and she was nearly dead by any species' standards! And did you listen to anything Cap said?"

"Wh-"

"He said she was like him: _someone out of their time. _And she's like me, too." He looked down at her. "She's known fear and death," he continued softly. "And she still knows it. She may have forgotten her name, but there are some things you can't forget." He looked up at Loki. "Tell us what you know about her."

Loki sat slowly on the folding metal chair, his hands folded tightly.

"It is not my place to divulge secrets that are not mine," he murmured to Thor.

"If this knowledge will stop her continued abuse, you must share it," his brother responded, glaring at Fury.

Loki took a deep breath as Thor left and stared ahead at the one-way window.

"She is a Forerunner. They called her the Librarian. She never told me her name; I believe she has truly forgotten it." He closed his eyes. "She had a husband." He opened them as a tear fell. "He is dead now." Loki stood, shifting his weight nervously. "She was a guardian of life, of her entire civilization. She . . . she told me she had failed." His face grew pale. "She used to have night terrors – she'd scream as one possessed in the night . . . When she thought we were asleep she would sit on our balcony and weep." He looked back up. "She has experienced Hel, Director Fury. Do not break what is already broken."

The lights went out. When the interrogation chambers filled with light again, the Librarian stood before Loki, facing the window, her eyes full of tears.

"Loki speaks the truth," she murmured, stepping forward. "And if it's of any consequence, I do not hold your actions against you, Director Fury." The window's opaqueness faded, revealing the Avengers on the other side. "Yes, I accessed your database. I was merely acquainting myself with Earth." Her jaw clenched and her pupils constricted. "As well as searching for Contamination."

Fury stepped forward.

"What contamination?"


End file.
